Jared Siegal, founder and CEO of Aditude, shares his journey from consulting to a successful SaaS business. He emphasizes the importance of offering value to build trust and discusses the challenges of scaling and delegating responsibilities. Siegal reveals how events can foster client relationships, plus insights into navigating capital and maintaining product stability before seeking investment. He also touches on the impact of AI and his personal battles with multiple sclerosis, showcasing resilience and the drive to innovate.
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question_answer ANECDOTE
Impulsive Start to Consulting
Jared Siegal quit his job impulsively after his boss denied a raise and started consulting friends in the publishing space.
He ran this hourly consulting business solo for about a year before hiring one employee.
question_answer ANECDOTE
Turning Down Acquisition Offers
Jared received multiple unsolicited acquisition offers for his consulting business but declined them to build a SaaS product.
He did not fully know what SaaS meant but convinced his friend to join as CTO and start building the product.
volunteer_activism ADVICE
Give Product Free Then Monetize
Give your product away for free initially to build trust and prove its value to customers.
Use the free usage period to convert all clients to a paid SaaS model once the product demonstrates clear revenue benefits.
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He got his first SaaS customers without spending a dollar on sales or marketing - and converted every single one to paid. Jared Siegal built a consulting business with 30 clients at $2M revenue, then deployed a strategy that made his first SaaS customers completely dependent on his technology before charging them a cent.
Jared reveals how getting first SaaS customers meant giving the product away free for six months while billing for consulting, why 100% of early customers converted to first paying users when he flipped the switch, and how a referral-only customer acquisition engine grew Aditude to $5M ARR with zero sales team.
Jared previously built two companies that sold for massive valuations but walked away with almost nothing. Aditude now serves digital publishers and bootstrapped to $5M ARR with six employees before raising a $15M Series A on his own terms.
🎯 Get first SaaS customers by giving your product away free: Jared gave his SaaS away for six months, making 30 clients completely dependent on his tech. When he started charging, 100% converted.
💰 Use consulting revenue to fund your first SaaS customers: Jared used $2M/year in consulting revenue as his own VC fund - no investors, no dilution while building a sticky product.
🛠️ Borrow resources from early customers who benefit: Jared got a client's engineer for free for six weeks by aligning incentives: "If this works, you save money."
🚀 Build a referral engine instead of hiring a sales team: Three free consulting hours per successful referral meant every new customer arrived pre-sold through word of mouth.
📈 Raise capital only when you do not need it: At $5M ARR with six employees, Jared told every VC "I don't need your money" and raised a $15M Series A on his terms.
Chapters
Introduction and The "Luke Bryan" Quote
From Employee to Scrappy Consultant
Three Acquisition Offers in One Month
Borrowing a Client's Engineer to Build the MVP
Converting First SaaS Customers From Free to Paid
Hitting $1M ARR in Four Months
The Pain of Bootstrapping and Personal Financial Risk
The SaaS Podcast - AI, Growth & Product-Market Fit for SaaS Founders